Method and apparatus for conditioning air



F. A. WHITELEY 2,173,405

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed Sept. 2l, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 19, 1939.

mw 2A ATTO R N EYS Sept. 19, 1939.

F. A. WHITELEY METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR INVENTOR FRANK HVVHWELJY ATTOR NEYS Sept 19, 1939. F. A. wHlTELEY A 2,173,405

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed Sept. 2l, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 l..` a /Q o .E v uumfllmlmllmm" Hlllllllllll NVENTO FRANK AWHITELEY ATTO R NEA/6 Sept. 19, 1939. F. A. WHITELEY 2,173,405

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed Sept. 2l, 1935. 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 8 8 84 FIG" 7 ENVENTQR FRANK A. WHrriLEY ATTORNEYS Sept 19, 1939. F. A. WHITELEY 2,173,405

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed sept. 21, 1955 6 Sheets-sheet 5 ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1939 F. A. WHITELEY METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING AIR Filed Sept. 2l, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 T :ze fz'v K INVENTOR FRANK A. WmTELEr fd/Pnqum, ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITED- STATES' PATENT ol-Fica METHOD AND "APPARATUS FOB CONDITIONING AIR Frank a. whitney, Minneapnus, Minn, Application September 21, 1935, Serial Nia-41,621

' 22 claims. (ci. iz- 129) Broadly stated it is the objectof the invention to circulate air to and from the rooms through a heat exchanger wherein' the air is cooled and moisture removed therefrom by cold water circu- 10 Iating through passages in said heat exchanger; to cool said water in a hydrating chamber wherein air dried by passing through a dehydrating tower is circulated in contact with large surfaces of said water provided by spraying, splashing or l5' other suitable means, said air -being' drawn through the dehydrating material in the tower and through the hydrating cooling chamber under negative pressure, and evaporating water in said cooling chamber under negative pressure, and to m pass the air, so cooled by-evaporation as the water in the hydrating chamber is correspondingly cooled, through heat exchanger passages in the dehydrating tower, whereby the air passing through the dehydrating material therein is 25 cooled and the heat of dehydration extracted, and to discharge outdoors the air from the cooling chamber after so taking up the heat of dehydration and cooling the dried air. It will be understood that the term negative pressure as used 80 herein means a pressure or pressures below atmospheric pressure at 'any point of use indicated by a gauge adjusted to show actual atmospheric pressure as zero at that point.

Specifically, a further object of my invention is 38 to draw air throughthe dehydrating tower and the cooling chamber under very considerable negative pressure, both to cause said air to pass through a bed of suillcient extent of suitably small granules of dehydrating material to effec- 40 tively dry the air, and to produce such negative pressure in the cooling chamber as materially to increase the rate and amount of evaporation therein correspondingly to increase the rate and degree of cooling of both the air and the water 45 therein.

It is a further object of my invention to cause the cooled air from the hydrating chamber, wherein the water therein also is cooled by evaporation to the air, to be moved through heat exo changer passages adjacent passages holding the dehydrating material in the dehydrating tower to cool the dried air going therefrom and withdraw th'e heat of dehydration generated therein, and then to discharge the so heated air to outside the building.

It is a further object of my invention to provide in combination with the water circulation through. the heat exchanger for cooling the air going yto, the rooms, 'a water air-pump located in the hydrating chamber and operating to draw air thereo from and through the dehydrating tower so v as to produce a substantial negativel pressure in the: cooling chamber. I

It is a further object' of my invention to,provide a plurality (preferably 2) of dehydrating towers 10 with independent means operative to heat and purge the dehydrating material therein, together with means for controlling the air going to the hydrating chamber and the purging or reactivating of air, or air and combustion gas, going to the l5 s'tackto be discharged outdoors, so that oneof said hydrating towers will be in operation for drying air while the 4hydrating material in the other is reactivated. y

It is a further object of my invention to provide 2'0 control means for shifting the current of air for drying fr m one drying -tower to the other, and for eilectmg the operation of reactivation over fixed periods of time of actual operation without regard to the total elapsed time.

Other, and all, of the objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and the features ofv novelty of my invention are hereinafter particularly pointed out in claims. 30`

In the drawings, illustrating meansfor carrying out my invention,

Fig. l is a diagrammatic showing of the various steps of my process and arrangement of a preferred form of apparatus for carrying it into effect. Fig. 2 is a plan view of one arrangement of apparatus for carrying out my process. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 4 showing a preferred form of hydrating chamber and` water air-pump for producing'negative pressure in and moving air from the drying stack through the hydrating chamber. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an arrangement of cold-air heat exchanger to be employed in connection with a hot-air furnace so as to use the same air-moving and distributing means to and from the rooms which are used for heating purposes. Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. '7 is a 50 sectional plan view taken on line 1--1 of Fig. 8, showing a modified form of hydrating chamber. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional elevation taken on line 8- 8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a top plan view of duplicate dehydrating towers and with a section 5s of stack leading outdoors and connecting passageways.

verse sectional plan view taken on line II-II of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional elevation view taken on line |2-I2 of Fig. 8. Fig. 13 is av fragmentary sectional planview taken on line l3|3 of Fig. 10.` Fig. 14 is a view part diagrammatic of the damper-shifting means viewed downwardly from line I4-I4 marking the top boundary of the cooled-air duct 48. Fig. 15 is a similar view part diagrammatic of damper valve operating mechanism taken in plan from the top of the drying stack and ducts leading thereto and showing valve-operating means not shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a transverse sectional view in full detail of the tank for receiving condensed water from `the room airheat-exchanger and for feeding water to the cooling chamber. Fig. 1'1 is a sectional plan view on line I'I-I 1 of Fig.` 16.

Means for circulating the air to, through and from the rooms may be a hot-air furnace as I8, Figs.- 2 and 5. wherein pipes II convey heated air to the rooms and pipes I2, return said air to heater III, the air being driven by the blower I3 within casing III. Dampers I5vand I 8 in said casing may direct the air to pass through a cold-conditioning heat exchanger I8, the arrangement being similar to that of my Patent No. 1,969,829, granted August 14, 1934. The heat exchanger I8 comprises a multiplicity of air legs I 8 each embodying a large number of elongated air passages 28, the air passing through in one direction and back in the opposite direction on opposite sides of a partition 2|, see Fig. 6. Header chambers 22 and 23 receive water from pipes 24 and 25, pipe 24 connecting with a centrifugal pump 28 which draws water through a pipe 21 from a cooling chamber 28 hereinafter to be described. The water circulates through the heat exchanger I8 up passageways hydrating towers 36 and 31, shown in detail in Fig. 11. Each of these towers comprises a heat exchanger arrangement similar to vthat for the cold-water heat exchanger shown in Fig. 6, embodying vertical air legs 38 with vertical fin plate passages 38 which are filled with granular dehydrating material such as alumina or silica gel. Drawing the air through these dehydrating towers, which may have from four to six feet or more of such dehydrating material, provides a substantial restriction to the ow of air which will, as the air-moving means is shown positioned,l

require a substantial negative pressure inv the cooling chamber 28, varying as the volume of air passed varies, and increasing as that volume increases. This pressure with the water airpump 32 may be made relatively very low, making possible use of comparatively ne granular dehydrating material in the vertical passages 38 and 'greatly increasing the evaporating capacity of the dry air contacting a water spray, a's here inafter described, within chamber 28.

Attempts heretofore made to cool water and air in a spray chamber by evaporating water in air dried by passing it through a bed of granular Fig. 10 is a sectional elevationvieW4 taken on line Ill-I0 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a trans-.-

dehydrating material have proved ineffective for home heating, because large volumes of air must be saturated by such evaporation, and means to move such large volumes against the restriction of the granular dehydrating bed have been both very noisy and extremely expensive in great power consumption. As a result, although vast sums have been expended in attempts to develop air-cooling means for homes using beds of dehydrating materials such as silica gel or alumina, no practically successful home-cooling air-conditioner of that type has been produced. The dimculty has beenthat known applied blower mechanisms move the air by centrifugal action. Because of the comparatively imponderable mass of air particles terriillc speeds are required to build up pressures of even two to five inches of water, while to move sufficient volumes of air through the necessary depth of hydrating beds requires pressures of from fteen to twenty-four inches of water (either negative or suction pressures on one side of the bed, or positive or blowing pressures on the other). For such pressures speeds are so great that consequent ear-splitting noise Vand enormous power consumption prohibit use in home air-conditioning, or indeed for anything but in' industrial processes where noise and cost hydrated. Moreover this will not only provide an ample volume of dried air moved' into and through the cooling chamber, but, which is also limportant as an element of cooling, a substandescribed by passing it through the heat exchanger I8 by which the air going to the rooms is cooled. The current of air, which is also cooled in passing through chamber 28, is not employed directly for cooling the rooms, that is, said cooled air does not go to the rooms. It is an important feature of my process that I use this cooled air to cool the dry air coming from the dehydrating stack, and to remove the heat of dehydration from said stack. An air trunk 40 leads from water air-pump 32, Fig. 3, or blower 33, Fig. 2, to a' valve chamber 4I, Figs. 9 and.11, where a damper valve 42' directs said cooled air to go across one or the other of the dehydrating towers 38 or 31 through transverse passages 42 between the heat exchangers containing the dehydrating material in the vertical passageways 38. Fromchamber .4I, as clearly shown in Fig. 10, the cold air passes across the upper third of the dehydrating heat exchangers to a transfer chamber 43. From chamber 43 the air passes back across the middle third of dehydrating heat exchangers to a second transfer chamber 44. FromA chamber 44 the air passes through the bottom third of the dehydrating heat exchanger to a chamber 4l, from which a stack 48 will carry said air outof-doors. It will be observed that in this triple passage of the cooled airv from air-cooling chamber 28 across dehydrating heat exchangers in 38 or 31 said cooled air will become progressively heat of the dried air going tothe dehydrating lchamber to a point where said air will have a yof the heat from the room or rooms which are being cold air-conditioned. l

The cycle of operations by which this heat transfer is eiected is as follows. reference being had to Fig. 1: In the cold water heat exchanger I8 the air from the rooms is cooled,1 and the circulating water is made to absorb heat thus brought from the rooms, which raises the temperature of said water. This water with such raised temperature is then subjected in cooling chamber 28 to currents of dry air therein from one or the other of the dehydrating towers, said air in the cooling chamber preferably being under negative pressure. Large evaporation of water takes place within the cooling chamber, si-

, multaneously saturating and cooling the air passing through it and cooling the water in the cooling chamber, that is, taking from the water heat removed from the rooms. The cooled air then passes through the dehydrating tower and cools the dried air and' removes from the tower the heat of dehydration which is passed out-of-doors.

Various forms of cooling chamber, of means for moving air therethrough under negative pressure, and oi. creating a suitably large evaporating water surface within the cooling chamber, by spraying or other means, lmay be employed.` As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the water moved by pump 26, after passing through heat exchanger 8, is delivered by pipe 25 to a header 41. This header extends across the width of the casing forming the water air-pump 32, which, as shown in Figs. v3 and 4, is relatively wide and runs through the top 48 of cooling chamber 28 and down through said chamber to near the bottom thereof, forming within said casing a high, wide and shallow passageway 49. From the header pipe or chamber 41 the water passes through a long slot-opening 50 and descends under the force of the pump and of gravity through the passageway 49, which passageway has pressed in its back wall a series of upwardly-turned openings 52 which open only into the interior of cooling chamber. 28 and which have connection with the main body of said interior and with the air-inlet duct 30 through chamber 53 adjacent end wall 54 of cooling chamber 28 and through narrow passageways 55 and 56, Fig. 4, extending vertically along the sides of the water air-pump casing 32. The lower end of passageway 49 has its wall 5| curved as indicated at 51 and narrowed-at 58 to extend the passageway 49 around the front wall of 32 to an upward discharge as indicated at 59. This upward discharge is within a chamber 69 formed by forward extensions of the side walls of 32 and by front walls 6| and 62 united therewith. A second vertical wall 63 forms a vertical passage 64 which is adapted to continue into passageway 40 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The curved portion 51 of back wall 5| at its lower edge is spaced a small distance from the bottom of cooling chamber 28 as indicated at 65.

2,173,405 v-tvarmen In its ilrst passage it will take up the The labove-recited water air-pump construction operates as follows: 'The wide sheet of water vrushing down through passageway 49 Dpast the v openings 52 to4 the interior of cooling chamber 28 drags air throughsaid openings and carries it through the narrowed portion 58 and around to the upward discharge 5 9, where said air is thrown oil at 66 into passageway 64 and is pushed through passageway 40, heat exchanger passageways 42 to dehydrating towers 36 or 31 and thence to the stack or outdoor discharge 46. The water is discharged from opening 59 into chamber 66, whence it passes through opening 65 under the curved bottom 51 of casing 32 into the bottom part of chamber 53, and from there said water passes through the lower portions 61 and 68 of vertical passageways 55 and 56 along the sides of cooling chamber 28 to mix with the main body of Water therein, from which an extension of pipe 21, indicated at 69 in Fig. 4, draws water from the bottom central part of the water contained therein. In this wayit is assured that the return water from room air heat-exchanger I8 will always be thoroughly mixed with all of the water in the cooling chamber 2i! before going back to heat exchanger I8.

In the form of the invention of Figs. 3 and 4 in some cases it will not be necessary to form a separate spray of water in the cooling chamber 28, since the plunging of the air in the sheet of water in passageway 49 and through chamber 60 can provide, insuch cases, a suilicient area of water surface for the desired amount of evaporation. In other cases, however, and particularly where it is desired to take advantage of the reduced pressure in cooling chamber 28 to produce increased evaporation, it will be advantageous to form a spray within the cooling chamber. may be done in various ways. One way is to provide a shaft 10 with a. multiplicity of discs 1| extending below the surface of the water toward the bottom of cooling chamber 28, as shown in Fig. 3, and also in Figs. 2 and 12. By suitable connection with a motor, as motor 12 of Figs. 1 and 7, through intermediate shaft connections and belt 13, the shaft 18 is driven at high speed. The discs 1| dragging through the water at the bottom at such high speed will throw a large volume of nely divided spray into the interior of cooling chamber 28. There is some advantage in forming a spray in this way over using pressure pumps and spray nozzles, both because it requires -less power to produce a given amount of spray in this Way, and, more important, because it involves no diiculties such as arise from the clogging of nozzles.

As shown` in Fig. 2, the motor 12 through belt 14 may drive pump 26 and through belt 15 may drive blower 33, the air-inlet for blower 33 being a funnel member 16, Fig. 2, which connects with air trunk 11, Figs. 7, 8 and 12. In this form the air which goes into the cooling chamber 28 through port from dehydrating tower 36 or 31 passes over the top edges of walls 18 and 19 which extend below the water level in chamber 28 and form in conjunction with other walls 80 and 8| passageways 82 and 83 from the lower part of Awhich the air reverses into vertical passageways 84 and 85 extending along the side walls of the cooling chamber 28. 'I'he passageways 84 and 85 in turn are united by means of a multiplicity of tubular passageways 86 with the main Withdrawal duct 11. The water is returned from pipe 25 upon the top into the space 81 immediately over the top of air duct 11, from which it iiows along the This top thereof and spreads out sideways passing down throgh narrow openings 88 between the tubular pa 'ageways 86. This produces two advantageo results, first it passes the returned and warmed water over a relatively large heatexchanger surface exposedA to the cooled air leaving the cooling chamber 28 to go to the passages 42 between heat exchanger air legs containing the dehydrating material, and, second, it results in dripping the water down through the cooling chamber in a heavy spray for providing additional surface to aid in evaporation and cooling of the water.

As best shown in Fig. 10, the dried air from the dehydrating towers 36 or 31 goes to a top chamber 89 thereof which is adapted to open to a passagewayv 90 on one side, and a second passageway 9| on the other side. The passageway 90l is closed by a valve door 92 and the passageway 9| by a valve door 93. As indicated in dotted lines at 94 of Fig. 10, the valves 92 and 93 are linked together outside the casing in such manner that said valves are operated simultaneously one to open and the other to close-communication between chamber 89 and the respective passageways 90 and 9|. In the full-line position of Fig. 10, chamber 89 is open to passageway 90 and closed to passageway 9|. There are of course two sets of passageways 90 and 9| for the two dehydrating stacks 36 and 31, and there will be a double arrangement of the linkage 94 operating the two sets of damper valves 92 and 93 simultaneously and in alternate order so that when valve 92 opens and valve 93 closes in stack 36, as shown in Fig. l0, valve 92 will close and valve 93 will open in stack 31.

Passageways 90 connect with vertical air,legs 95, Figs. l and 11, and these in turn straddle the air leg 40 and connect laterally as indicated at 96 in Fig. l0 with the inlet air duct 30, there being a damper valve, indicated in its two positions in dotted lines at `91, in Fig. 9, which is operable simultaneously, and in the same direction with damper valve 42', also shown in dotted lines in its two positionsin Fig. 9, whereby the air is directed to be drawn from one or the other of the vertical passageways 95 and one or the other of the dehydrating towers 36 or 31, while at the same time the cold return air is correspondingly directed by valve damper 42 to go through the heat exchanger passages 42 for cooling the dried air and withdrawing the released heat from the dehydrating tower.

As shown in Figs. 2, 9 and 10, the passages 9| open through a port 98 into stack 46, said port 98 being controlled by a damper valve 98' similar in operation and working simultaneously with valves 92 and 93, whereby port 98 will be closed to one chamber 9| and open to the other chamber 9| as shown in Fig, 8, with reverse action and effect when the air movement for dehydrating is shifted from dehydrating tower 36 to dehydrating tower 31.

As shown in Fig. l0, at the lower part of each dehydrating tower 36 and 31 is located a chamber 99 which is provided with a main air-inlet portion |00 and a ilre chamber portion |0I, the latter offset in each case fromy the dehydrating towers, heavily insulated and with a nre brick roof |02. The front of each inlet chamber is opened and closed by a damper valve |03 indicated in full position in Fig. 10 and in full positions in Fig. i4. The two valves are simultaneously operable in unison with damper valves 42', 92, 93, 91 and 98', valves |03 operating to open the respective inlet passages |00 at the same time that valves 91 and 92 open to permit air to be drawn through a dehydrating tower through passageways 95 and 30 to the cooling chamber, and that valve 42' directs the cooled return air to pass through the other set of heat exchanger passages 42. That is, valves 92, 91 and |03 operate simultaneously to put a circulating current of air through, say dehydrating tower 36, to dry that air. At the same time these valves, together with damper valve 93 and valve 98'-into stack 46 operate to close. off dehydrating tower 36 from all communication with the stack 46, and valves 42', 90 and 91 close all communication of dehydrating stack 31 with the air-drying circuit, and the valve |03 for stack 31 closes the chamber 99 to the air of the room, and valves 93 and 98v open hydrating tower 31 to discharge heated reactivating gases into stack 46.

Referring to Figs. 10 and 13, an air-box |04 is located adjacent side walls |05 and |06 of chambers |0| below dehydrating stacks 36 and 31 respectively, and said air-box |04 opens through ports 206 into both said chambers |0I. At the bottom thereof and within a casing |01 in each chamber |0| and opening thereinto through a top port 201 is a easing |08 which also is -provided with apertures |09 below the gas burner tube I0 to provide secondary vair of combustion. A damper valve pivoted at 2 operates alternatively to close one and open the other ef the respective ports 206. As shown in Figs. 10 and 13 damper valve ||l is held to open air-box |04 through ports 206 and 201 to the chamber |0| where valve |03 has closed the passageway |00 leading to said chamber. A blower ||3 at proper times delivers air into air-box |04 to pass through ports 206 and 201 to chamber I0| and mix with gases of combustion from burner ||0 to produce the proper gas temperature going through the dehydrating material in dehydrating tower 36 or 31 .by a link I I1 pivoted to an arm ||8 fast on shaft l I4 by which valve 91 is moved iu correspondence with valve 42'. The valves |03 are secured to .shafts l I9 which carry fast thereon arms I 20 connected by links I 2| with oppositely-extended arms |22 i'astA on shaft ||4 by which valves |03 are'moved in opposite directions.' The shaft ||2 supporting valve has'fast thereon an arm |23 connected by link |24 with arm |22 whereby damper is moved to open the port |06 at the same time that valve damper |03 is moved to close inlet passageway |00.

' As shown in Fig. l5, fast on a pivotal support for valve 92 is a depending arm |25 and a similar depending arm |26 is fast on the supporting shaft of damper valve 93. These arms are pivotally connected at their ends to a link |21, which, in turn, is connected by a link |28 to an arm |29 fast on vertical shaft ||4 for operating valves y92 and 93 of dehydrating stack 36. Correspondingly positioned,but operating in reverse order, the valves 92 and 93 of stack 31 are provided Fig. 15 with arms |30 and |3| fast on the shafts supporting valves 92 and 93 and pivotally connected f by an intervening link |32 which is connected by link |33 with an arm |34 fast on shaft III. An

arm |36 fast on the shaft of damper valve 98' is pivotally connected by link |36 Fig. 15 with the link |32, the valve 98' and its connections being so related to valve 93 and their connections that when chamber 9| is closed to` chamber89 at the top of stack 36 the chamber 9| will also be closed by valve 98 from port 98 leading to stack 46, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Conversely, at such times the chamber 9| of dehydrating stack 31 will at that time be open to both chamber 89 and stack 46. And, of course, the operations are reversed Awhen dehydrating stack 81 is opened to the air circulation and closed to the stack 46.

As shown in Fig. 15, shaft ||4 has fast thereon an arm |31 which is connected pivotally to a link |38, and that, in turn is pivotally connected to an armature |39 andv a push-and-pull solenoid |40. The solenoid |40 is provided with double and reverse windings |`4| and |42 going to a ground |43 With this type of switch operator the sluiting of the valves for controlling iiows through the dehydrating stacks 36 and 31, the operation of the gas valvesynot shown, for the burners ||0, and the operation of blowers |3 and ||3 and water pump 26 are controlled in synchronism, and for desired periods of time, such periods,

however, being periods of operation, and not of elapsed time. The operation of the device is `oi! course controlled by a thermostat. If it be assumed that dehydrating tower 36 or 31 is capable of completely drying air under -most severe conditions for a period of two hours, and that one hour is requisite for reactivating the dehydrating material in the other dehydrating tower, the control would operate to continue air flow through the active dehydrating tower for a period of two hours of actual operation, regardless of the elapsed time, and through the inactive dehydrating tower for reactivating the material in' it for a period of one hour of actual operation, the last hour, like the two-hour period, being of actual .operation in reactivating regardless Vof elapsed time.

Supply of water to the cooling chamber 28 may be provided from two sources, first, as indicated somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 5, water of condensation taken from the cooling air in heat exchanger I8 will gravitate vthrough drain pipe |49 into a tank or receptacle |60 which is open to atmosphere at its top. A pipe |6| has its inlet end |62 located near the bottom of tank |60 back of a screen |63. The pipe |6| will enter chamber 28 at a point |64, ser: Figs. 3 and 4, which is sutilciently high so that the negative pressure created in the cooling chamber 28 will be sufllcient to 6| to that water level slightly below discharge pipe |49, indicated at |66. would be eighteen inches. In this manner the condensation water from heat exchanger I8, which is practically mineral-free, filtered of materials washed from the air going 'to the rooms, will be transferred to the evaporating cooling chamber 28. In the event that more water of condensation should be thus introduced into cooling chamber 28 than is vevaporated therefrom, which might occur on very humid days, means is'provide'd for removing such excess water. To accomplish this a pipe |61 has its open lower end |68 near the bottom of chamber 60 and its upper end opening at |69 into passageway 64. where the air will be at substantially atmosphere pressure, and is provided with an opening |10 into the interior of the 1 will have no eii'ect upon the Ievel of water in pipe |61, which will always represent the true water level in cooling chamber 28. Hence, whenever that level rises to the discharge opening |12 -ol.' pipe |1| water will flow under normal gravity action through said opening into discharge pipe |1| and out of the system.

As there might be more water evaporated from cooling chamber 28 than would thus be supplied by condensation in heat-exchanger I8, additional water from any source may be supplied from a water pipe |18 or 1n alternation water pipe |14, Figs. 4 and 16. In one form this water is admittedby a valve |14 in a zeolite chamber |16 within chamber 28 preferably formed with a reticulat'e bottom |16. The valve |14 is controlled by a oat |11 pivoted at |18 and operating through a link |19 and rocking lever |80 to open and close valve |14lin response to changes in the level |8| of the water in cooling chamber` 28.

'For convenience in taking care of the zeolite forA regeneration, and also for cleaning accumulations of matter carried from the room-air heatl |84 connected therewith, and the water after passing through the zeolite in receptacle |82 will pass through apertures at the bottom thereof from which the water may flow along the bottom to the space` |86, from which thepipe |6| is caused by negative pressure to deliver the water within cooling chamber 28. The flow of this water through pipe |14 is controlledby valve |81 connected with a supply pipe |88 Fig. 4, and the valve is controlled by a pivoted oat |88 connected by a link with valve armv |9|. In this manner, when water level |8| in the cooling chamber 28 falls, tap water from the city system will be supplied, being caused first to pass through the zeolite in receptacle |82. It will be obvious that the receptacles |82 and |83 can readily be withdrawn, the former to be given a bath of salt brine fo'r regenerating of the zeolite and the latter to have the collected dirt washed therefrom.

As clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it will be noted that the bottom wall |93 of cold-air duct 40 has a downward slope. This is provided be- Vcause evaporation in cooling chamber |28 takes of its contained moisture, rising in temperature at the same time, until it produces a balance of temperature and dew-point at atmospheric pressure. 'I'his release of moisture will be inthe form of a mist, which will be carried into conduit 40 and there may sufilciently condense to accumulate on the sloping oor |93 of the conduit. This moisture willfldw along the slope of the oor above the passageway 44, Fig. 10, of whichever hydrating tower 36 or 31 .may then have the return air current passing through it. The upper wall |94, Fig. 10, and Fig. 9, shown in dotted lines, is provided for each dehydrating tower with a diagonally-disposed line vof perforations |85 through which said water of condensation is caused to spray down" into chamber M, as indicated in Fig. 10 at |96. As, the air passing into and through chamber. has been very considerably warmed through contact with the air-leg walls of heat-exchanger passages 42, this heat will reevaporate the water so sprayed, eiecting further cooling of the air by. latent heat of evaporation, and, in turn, producing increased heat removal in the final passage through the bottom `set of heat-exchanger passageways 42, so that all the moisture of condensation will be evaporated and pass outdoors and will be effective in doing the work and accomplishing the result of my process.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. The e!- fect oi.' the entire process will be literally to withdraw heat from the rooms and pump it out-ofdoors, in the air which has been i'lrst cooled in the cooling chamber and then heated in the dehydrating stack by withdrawing therefrom the heat of dehydration. The transfer of heat from the rooms is, of course, eiIected through the circulation of the water cooled in the cooling chamber through the room-air heat exchanger. A- sumcient volume of air is caused to move through the granular material in the dehydrating stack by reason of the fact that the water air-pump pulls the air through the stack and through the dehydrating chamber and pushes it out by means of a positive action, the eectiveness of which is well-known but which never has been applied to thel uses oi' my process. An enormous advantage from home heating comes from the fact that the water air-pump is an adjunct of the circulating ci the cold water through the room-air heat-exchanger and the power necessary for a domestic installation is relatively very small, only a small fraction of the power required for cooling with a compressor. The cost oi' the apparatus for carrying out the process -is reasonable,'since it is `composed largely of sheet metal, and the very low cost of operation will bring the process and apparatus within the means of ordinary householders for cold air-conditioning, so that there may be all-year-round air-conditioning in homes of moderate cost.

I claim: Y

1. A method of conditioning air.i'or rooms which consists in'cooling, and d ehydrating by circulating water, a current of air going to the rooms out of contact with said water, cooling the water by evaporation in dry air circulated in contact with said water, drying said last-named air by circulating it through dehydrating material before it contacts the water, removingthe heat of dehydration from the dried air and dehydrating material by the same air aiterit has 4gone through the evaporating water-cooling step,

doors.

2. A method o( conditioning air for rooms f which consists in cooling, and dehydrating by circulating water; a current .ot air going tothe rooms out of contact with said water, cooling the water byevaporation in dry air circulated in contact with said water, drying said last-named air by circulating it through dehydrating material before it contacts the water. removing the heat oi dehydration from the dried air and deand then discharging saidlast-named air out- 1 hydrating material by the same air after it has gone through the evaporating water-cooling step,

then discharging said last-named air outdoors, and adding the water condensed from the room air to the original supply of water to-replace water taken therefrom by evaporation.

3. A method of conditioning air for rooms which consists in cooling, and dehydrating by circulating water, a current of air going to the rooms out of contact with said water, cooling the water by evaporation in dry air circulated in contact with said water, producing in the circulating air while it contacts said water a substantial negative pressure, drying said last-named air by circulating it through dehydrating material before it contacts the water, removing the heat of dehydration i'rom the dried air and dehydrating material by the sameair after it has gone through the evaporating water-cooling step, and then discharging said last-named air outdoors.

4. A method oi' conditioning air for rooms wh ch consists in cooling, and dehydrating by w er, a current of air going to the rooms out of contact with said water,`circulating the water under pressure for effecting said air-cooling and dehydration, cooling said water by evaporation in a voluminous current of air passed in intimate contact with the water and at a substantial negative pressure and using said water as so circu-l lated Ior causing said current of air and creating said negative pressure.

5. A method of conditioning air for rooms which consists in cooling, and dehydrating by wa'ter, a current of air going to the roms out of contact with said water, circulating the water under pressure for effecting said air-cooling and dehydration, cooling said water by evaporation in a voluminous current of air passed in intimate contact with the water and at a substantial negative pressure using said water as so circulated for causing said current of air and creating said negative pressure, drying said last-named air by circulating it through dehydrating material before it contacts the water, removing the heat of dehydration from the dried air and dehydrating material by the same air after it has gone through the evaporating water cooling step, and then discharging said last-named air outdoors.

6. A method of conditioning air for rooms which consists in cooling, and dehydrating by water, a current or air going to the rooms-out of contact with said water, cooling the water by evaporation of air circulated in contact with said water, producing in the circulated air while it contacts said water a substantial negative pressure, and through said negative pressure causing the water condensed from the room air to be added to the original supply of water to'replace water taken therefrom by evaporation.

. removing air from said chamber, and a water` air-pump insaid passageway for causing the air to be removed from said chamber in contact with the fwater of said air-pump at such a rateo! ow in relation to said inlet restriction as to create substantial negative pressure in the :ool'` ing chamber.

8. An air-conditioning apparatus comprising a cooling chamber containing a supply of water, a

vdehydrating tower containing granular dehydrating material which will effect a restriction of ilow of air therethrough, means for passing air from said dehydrating tower after it has gone through the dehydrating material into the cooling chamber, a passageway for removing air from said chamber, and a water` air-pump in said passageway for causing the air to be removed from said chamber in contact with -the water of said air-pump at such a rate of low in relation` to the inlet restriction of the dehydratlng material as to create substantial negative presvsure in the cooling chamber, and to evaporate enough water to suiiiciently cool said supply of water.

9, An air-conditioning apparatus comprising a cooling chamber containing a supply of water, a dehydrating tower containing granular dehydrating material which will effect a restriction of ow of air therethrough, means forpassing air irom said dehydrating tower after it has gone through the dehydrating material into the cooling chamber, a passageway for removing air from said chamber, a water'air-pump in said passageway for causing the air to be removed from said chamber in contact with the water of said airpump at such a rate of flow in relation to the inlet restriction of the dehydrating material as to create substantial negative pressure in the cooling chamber, air-conveying heat-exchanger passageways across the dehydrating tower, and means for causing the air moved from the cooling chamber to go through said last-named passages and discharge outdoors to remove the heat of dehydration from the dried air and dehydrating. material.

10. In air-conditioning apparatus, an evaporating vcooling chamber for containing a quantity of water, afheat-exchanger for conditioning the air of the rooms, a pump and pipe connections for circulating said water under pressure through the heat-exchanger and back to the cooling chamber. a wide, shallow passageway receiving said water at its top and having openings into the aircooling chamber, means for causing said water to be thrown through said passageway in a wide, high sheet, then to be reversed in direction whereby it will draw large volumesof air through said cooling chamber and openings and into said passageway, and means associated with the said passageway for conveying said air from the cooling chamber.

11. The step in the method oi conditioning air for rooms by circulating water under pressure out of contact with said air but in heat exchange therewith and which water is cooled by evaporating a portion thereof in a current of air dried by means which restrict the `flow of said air.

which consists in causing the return portion of restricted air-flow to contact said sheet, whereby is created substantial negative' pressure in the enclosure therebycausing said current o f air to move through said restricting 'means to and through the enclosurefin large enou'ghyolumes so evaporation thereinwill suiliciently cool the circulatin'g water. f a

12. An air-conditioning apparatus comprisinga cooling chamber containing a supply of water', y means including a multiplicity of disks rotatingin contact with said water .for filling the chamber with water spray, astack leading outdoors, a dehydrating tower containing granular dehydrating -material with passages through it opening to the in contact with-said water for lling the chamber,

with water spray, a stack leading outdoors, a dehydrating tower containing granular dehydrating material with passages through it opening to the stack, means to circulate water from the supply at the bottom of said cooling chamber and return it at the top thereof, and means controlling said return ilow whereby it will be made to cause large volt'umes of air to move through said granular material, to and through the cooling chamber and through said passages to the stack.

14. An air-conditioning apparatus comprising a cooling chamber with means therein for lling it with water spray, astack leading outdoors, a dehydrating tower containing granular dehydrat ing material with passages through it opening 'to the stack, means to circulate water from the sup- Dly at the bottom of the cooling chamber and return it at thetop thereof, and means controlling said return flow whereby it will be made to cause large volumes of air to move through said granular material, to and through the cooling chamber and through said passages to the stack.

15. In air-conditioning apparatus means for drying air including a container holding a body' of granular material such as silica gel which `forms a restriction to ow of air therethrough, a closed chamber having air-duct connection with said container and adapted to contain a body of water, a pump ior withdrawing water at the bottom voi' said chamber and returning it into the chamber at the top so as to form a descending stream. and means controlling the flow of air going through said chamber to cause it to be subjected to the action of said descending stream of water so that said descending stream will act upon said air to cause it to move in large` `volume through said granular material in thecontainer to be dried thereby.

16. A method of conditioning air for rooms which consists in cooling, and dehydrating by circulating cold water, a current of air going to the rooms out of contact with said waterbut in heat exchange therewith, cooling the water by evaporation in dry air circulated invcontact with the water, and preliminarily cooling said lastnamed air before it enters into contact with the water by subjecting it to heat exchange with the same air after it has gonethrough the evaporating water-cooling step, and then discharging all of said last-named air outdoors.

17. In an air-conditioning apparatus. an evaporating cooling chamber' adapted to contain a quantity of water, means for producing a current of air through the cooling chamber so as to cause it to contact the water therein whereby both .Water and air' are cooled, a heat exchanger through which said current oi? air passes in going to the cooling chamber, means for causing all the air of said current after it leaves the cooling chamber to go through said heat exchanger and preliminarilycool saidcurrent of air and thereafter discharge outdoors, a heat exchanger for cold conditioning the air of rooms, and means for contacting said heat exchanger with the cooled water to effect said c old conditioning.

18. In lan air-conditioning apparatus, an evaporating cooling chamber adapted to contain a quantity of water, means for producing a curent oi' air through the coolingv chamberso as to cause it to contact the water therein whereby both waterv and air are cooled, a heat exchanger through which said current of air passes in going to the cooling chamber, means for causing all the air of said current after it leaves the cooling chamber `to go through said heat exchanger and preliminarily/cool said current of air and thereafter discharge outdoors, and means contacted by said cooled water for cold conditioning the air of rooms. y.

19. In an air-conditioning apparatus, an evaporating cooling chamber adapted to contain a quantity of water, means for forming a spray of said water in said cooling chamber, means for producing a current of air through the coolng chamber and through said spray so as to cause it to contact the water therein whereby both water and air are cooled, a heat exchanger through which said current of air passes in going to the cooling chamber, means for causing all of the air of said current after it leaves the cooling chamber to go through said heat exchanger and preliminarily cool said curent of air and thereafter discharge outdoors, and means contacted. by said cooled water for cold 'l conditioning the air of rooms.

20. 'Ihe step in the method of conditioningair for rooms by circulating water under pressure out of contact with said air but in heat exchange therewith and by cooling said water'by evaporatand formed with openings into Athe chamber, a

Dump and pipe connections circulating water under pressure by withdrawing it from the bottom of said chamber and introducing it into the top of said passageway. an air discharge duct extending from below the surface of said water to outside the chamber, and means at the bottom of said passageway opening into said duct for reversing the direction of ilow of the water, whereby the movement of water through the passageway will draw large volumes of air through said openings into said passageway against negative pressure within the chamber and will discharge said air through said duct against positive presf sure outside the chamber.

22. In combination, -a chamber for containing a quantity ot water, a passageway formed to ex- 'tend from the top to substantially below the level of said water in the bottom of the chamber and formed with openings into the chamber, said passageway extending substantially across the width of the chamber and being shallow relative to its width and having openings along its greater dimension into the chamber, a pump and pipe connections circulating said water under pressure by withdrawing it from the bottom of said chamber and introducing it into the top of said passageway, means for causing said water to be thrown through said passageway in a high, wide sheet, an air 'discharge duct extending from below the surface of said water to outside the chamber, and means at the bottom of said passageway opening into said duct for causing the sheet of water 'to reverse in direction, whereby the movement of water through the passageway will draw large volumes of air through said openings against negative pressure within the chamber and will discharge said air through said' duct against positive pressure outside the chamber.

AFRANK A. WHITELEY. 

